Supporters of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt's former military chief, hold his posters during a celebration at Tahrir Square in Cairo on May 29. / Amr Nabil, AP

by Sarah Lynch, Special for USA TODAY

by Sarah Lynch, Special for USA TODAY

CAIRO - Former military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's sweeping victory in Egypt's presidential vote is set to widen an already gaping divide between the state and its opposition.

"Egypt is going to become less stable, not more stable," says Shadi Hamid, a fellow at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy. "You have a big chunk of the population that has been pushed outside of the political process altogether with no real prospects of reintegration."

Early results Thursday showed al-Sisi won a crushing victory - carrying 92% of the vote, according to his campaign - over his sole challenger, leftist Hamdeen Sabahi, who conceded defeat. In some districts, support for al-Sisi soared to more than 97%, according to state media.

The landslide victory was tainted by few signs of a credible opposition and low voter turnout. Authorities declared Tuesday a holiday and pushed voting to a third day Wednesday.

According to current President Adly Mansour, nationwide turnout was about 46% - below the nearly 52% turnout in the election won by Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi in June 2012. Sabahi says the turnout figures lack credibility.

The low turnout could weaken al-Sisi's authority to make tough and important economic changes such as cutting energy subsidies that eat a big chunk of the country's budget, says Anna Boyd, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at IHS in London.

"It's going to be doubtful he will want to attempt anything sweeping because he now sees that perhaps he doesn't have such a large popular mandate," she says.

Before the vote, al-Sisi vowed to whip the economy into shape. His presidency is set to begin after official results are announced in June and he is sworn in to the position. In a recent televised interview, he laid out a massive but vague economic plan to use more of Egypt's desert terrain and work on wide-scale infrastructural development funded by countries in the Gulf, expatriates and investors.

The ex-military chief is likely to continue a counterterrorism campaign that has sought to restore security and crush Islamist opposition. In an interview, he ruled out political reconciliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, which boycotted the election and scoffed at the turnout.

"The Egyptian people have brought down the curtain on this farcical soap opera before the end, leaving the actors, the extras and the media circus alone behind the scenes," a Brotherhood-led alliance said in a statement, vowing to continue in its opposition.

Al-Sisi's supporters hope that under his presidency, security and the deteriorated economy will improve.

"He will do a lot for Egypt," said Kawther Hossein, 60, at a polling station this week in the heart of the capital. "We need him at this time. Egypt needs a man like Sisi."

It remains unclear what the strongman's presidency will mean for relations with the United States, which fell short of calling Morsi's ouster last year a coup but withheld a chunk of annual aid that largely goes to Egypt's military.

"I think things will improve because what other options do we have â?? a coalition with the Russians or the Chinese?" says Hisham Kassem, an Egyptian political commentator and former democracy advocate.

"Any sober-minded person - and Sisi is - will have a good relation with the United States. It's in the best interest of both parties," he says.

Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that an atmosphere of repression, which has led to thousands of deaths and mass imprisonment since last summer, undermined the fairness of the election.

In a statement this week, U.S.-based Democracy International said the election commission's decision to extend the vote raised more questions about the body's independence, government impartiality and the integrity of Egypt's electoral process.

Election posters displaying al-Sisi's smiling face coated the capital in recent weeks, covering chunks of building facades, lining highways and hovering over quiet streets. In central Cairo, al-Sisi T-shirts went on sale and a sweet shop not far from the U.S. Embassy sold chocolate squares with edible images of the former defense minister.